Unexpected opportunities

Read Acts 13:14-52

PAUL

Paul and Barnabas arrived at Pisidian Antioch, weary and aching from their perilous march through the mountains. Still, they wasted no time in making their way to the synagogue early enough to find a good seat to listen to the reading of God's Word. They made their destination by the Sabbath.

Press on!

 

Read Acts 12:25; 13:5, 13-15

PAUL

Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark left Cyprus and sailed to the southern coast of Turkey — a land then known as Pamphylia, whose rugged coastline ascended sharply into the towering heights of a mountain range steeper and fiercer than the eastern Tauras near Tarsus, and more terrible than any hills known to the Cypriot Barnabas or the Judean John Mark.

A phoney prophet

Read Acts 13:6-12

PAUL

This was no time for Paul to be tolerant or passive. We live in a culture that virtually deifies tolerance. One lady recently said to me with a broad grin, "I love everybody; I even love the Devil." I call that "tolerance gone to seed." Make no mistake, we're not to love the Devil, nor are we to love everything everybody does. Christ commands us to love people, even our enemies, but that doesn't mean we shrink from standing up for righteousness.

Like clay

Read Acts 12:25-13:5

PAUL

Keeping the clay of your will supple and flexible calls for constant attention along the way. Once you grow hard and brittle to God's leading, you're less usable to Him. I want to take the truths we've wrestled with here and make them into a softening ointment you can regularly apply when a change is on the horizon. The ingredients in the ointment you need to apply include a pinch of the negative and a smidgen of thepositive.

People pleasing

Read Acts 12:25-13:3

PAUL

I need to make a couple of observations about the nature of ministry. The way God chooses to lead His ministry is often difficult to get our arms around. Finding direction in the corporate world comes somewhat easier. There’s a clearly stated bottom line, shareholders to report to, and defined markets that guide company decisions.

Gentle nudging

Read Acts 12:25-13:3

PAUL

While they were ministering to the Lord-fasting, singing, teaching, witnessing, and praying—theHoly Spirit said, “OK, hitch up the wagons, fellas...westward, ho! I need Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

The power of two

Read Acts 11:19-26

PAUL

Do you recall what David did after he killed Goliath? God had already appointed the young shepherd as the next king of Israel. Most young conquerors would have located the nearest Macy’s and tried on crowns. Not David. He went right back to the Judean hills to keep his father’s sheep — a true shepherd with a servant’s heart.